New Hampshire Militia in Rhode Island 1779 Court Martial Held by Distinguished Patriots

From the summer of 1779 to January 1780, Colonel Hercules Mooney commanded a regiment of New Hampshire militia dedicated to the defense of Rhode Island. They were stationed at Providence to observe the movements of British forces in and around Newport. In this order, he convenes a court-martial with Captain Daniel Emerson as president to hear the cases of any prisoners awaiting trial. He also appointed four officers to serve on the court with Emerson and assigned Ensign Timothy Gleason to act as judge advocate.

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Hercules Mooney, Manuscript Document Signed, Appointment of Regimental Court Martial, December 29, 1779, Providence, Rhode Island. 1 p., 8" x 6.5". Expected folds; some tears on folds; compression on one edge; a few small holes.

Complete Transcript
Providence 29th Decemr 1779
A Regimental Court Martial to be held at one of the Clock this afternoon at Providence at Capt Emerson's Quarters in said Town to try such prisoners as shall be brought before them, whereof Capt Emerson is preside[nt.]
Members
Capt LeavittLieut Kelly
Lieut DruryEnsn Runales
Ensn Gleeson Judge Advocate
Hercules Mooney Colo Commtt

Historical Background
On June 23, 1779, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to raise a regiment of 300 men for the defense of Rhode Island, organized into six companies. They appointed Hercules Mooney as the colonel and Daniel Reynolds as the major of the regiment. They also appointed Ezekiel Worthen, Daniel Emerson, Ephraim Stone, and Samuel Runnals as captains of four of the companies, Jonathan Leavitt as Captain-Lieutenant to command Colonel Mooney's company, and William Chamberlain as a Lieutenant to command Major Reynolds's company.

Hercules Mooney (1715-1800) was born in Ireland into a Protestant family, emigrated to North America in 1733, and settled in Dover, New Hampshire. In 1738, he married Elizabeth Evans. He was a teacher and schoolmaster in Dover and Durham. He served as a captain in a New Hampshire regiment in the French and Indian War. He served as a delegate to the provincial congress in 1775 and received an appointment as a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army in 1776. He fought with his regiment in the Saratoga campaign and served on New Hampshire's Committee of Safety in 1778 and 1779. In June 1779, he commanded a regiment of New Hampshire militia sent to Rhode Island to observe the British Army at Newport. After the war, he moved to Holderness, New Hampshire, where he served as a justice of the peace and a representative to the state General Court.

Daniel Emerson Jr. (1746-1820) was born in Hollis, New Hampshire. He served as captain of a company that went to Ticonderoga in July 1776 and again in 1777. He commanded a mounted company that went to Rhode Island in 1778 and was again captain of the 5th Company of New Hampshire volunteers who served in Rhode Island for nearly six months from the summer of 1779 to January 1, 1780. He served as a member of the New Hampshire Council in 1787 and of the New Hampshire Constitutional Convention in 1791. Emerson was a member of the New Hampshire General Court for nineteen years between 1780 and 1812.

Jonathan Leavitt of Hampton Falls was a captain lieutenant in Colonel Hercules Mooney's regiment of New Hampshire militia who served in Rhode Island.

Samuel Kelley (1733-1813) was a carpenter and one of the first settlers of New Hampton, New Hampshire, in 1775. Kelley served as a lieutenant in Colonel Hercules Mooney's regiment of New Hampshire militia who served in Rhode Island.

Gershom Drury (1739-ca. 1804) of Temple served as constable in 1768 and a selectman in 1773. In 1775, he joined the American cause as a lieutenant and gained promotion to captain in 1777, when he led a group of three dozen men to Ticonderoga. In 1779, Drury served as a lieutenant in Colonel Hercules Mooney's regiment of New Hampshire militia who served in Rhode Island.

Samuel Runnals/Runnels (1754-1847) of Durham joined the American Army at Winter Hill and then served as an aide to General John Sullivan in New York, at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and in Rhode Island. In 1779, he served as a captain in Colonel Hercules Mooney's regiment of New Hampshire militia who served in Rhode Island. In 1780, he commanded a company for the defense of the western frontiers. He served in various local offices and became a justice of the peace in 1795.

Timothy Gleason (1752-1827) of Barrington enlisted in 1775 and twice in 1776 for short services, including service at Ticonderoga. In 1777, he served as a steward aboard the Raleigh on a privateering voyage to France and returned in June 1778. He served two months as an adjutant in 1779 before volunteering to serve in Rhode Island. Gleeson was commissioned an ensign in Captain Ezekiel Worthen's company on June 30, 1779, and also served as quartermaster while with the New Hampshire forces in Rhode Island.

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